


He Who Fell From the Stars

by Hallelujaah



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Angst, Inspired by Fanart, M/M, Sad Ending, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-29 20:46:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15737046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hallelujaah/pseuds/Hallelujaah
Summary: Jesse is saved by a merciful God after being abandoned on the side of the mountain. Centuries later, he finds that being saved can appear in a lifetime in more ways than one.





	1. Purple Allium

 

**[Art by ee-void](http://ee-void.tumblr.com/post/177178796140/title-he-who-fell-from-the-stars-rating-teen-and) **

 

There was something to be said about a Deity with a silver arm and tungsten in his eyes. From the very moment that mortals could walk, could write, could bleed, and believe, there were Gods and Goddesses. These were beings living above all others, they were worshiped, warranted, given offerings (be they food or flesh, it depends on the taste of the god, or the taste of the humans and their hate, one always seemed to vary depending on the other), and from this reverence came symbols of the highest order. Apollo had his heart and harp, Nephthys had her staff and skulls, Odin held his Valrknut and Valor, and then there was Jesse McCree, Demi-God of the Future, the Floral, and the Frontline. In his images, weaved with dried maize roots and summer oranges, he held his silver vision of the future in his left palm and wore lilac Scaevola's about his head, a veil of both life and death. Time was an equal balance that all mortals could balance, but none could possess and McCree knew this more than any other.

 

McCree was born from a faceless trickster deity, one forgotten over time and trial, who, one gentle Autumn day, came to the mortal realm and impregnated a young woman. The woman, disowned by her family for bearing a fatherless child and destitute for she had no money of her own, gave birth to her beloved boy in a red clay tomb high in the mountain region, where many believe the gods lived. The woman, as nameless as her son and just as helpless, died and littered the clay with even more red. The baby wept for it knew how to do nothing else, and it attracted the attention of a watery-eyed beast. A guardian god in a dog's form approached the cave, he was as black as the night and as constant as the hollow wind that twisted around the cave, as he gazed upon the whimpering mortal.

 

Unafraid, the young boy reached out his hand and pressed it to the snout of the disguised God. The baby ran his thumb over the scarred ridges that covered the fur and gurgled a comforting stream of vowels. The God felt compassion in that moment, even though he had not known such a feeling in over three hundred years. He decided to take the boy, and raise him as his own.

 

Fifteen winters passed, and the dog watched over the boy. The boy was temperamental and tense, as was to be expected in many youths upbringing, but he had a good heart and was brave, and the guardian dog knew that he would take the boy to the immortal realm one of these days, as was his birthright. However, when the wolf heard mortals clamber up the mountain, hunting deer and game, he knew he could no longer hide the boy in the mortal world and now was the only moment he would have to take the boy to the land of Gods. And so he did -

 

“Hanzo!” A shrill voice called from beyond a curtain. “Are you still reading those decrepit old tales? We have orders to fill, hurry up!”

 

Hanzo sighed, lovingly placing a folded piece of paper between the pages of his book before bending it closed.

 

“I will be there in a moment, Genji.” Hanzo mumbled mainly to himself, uninterested whether or not his brother could hear him, before he grabbed his green apron and tied it about his waist, preparing himself for another long day.

 

\- - -

 

McCree was three thousand, five hundred and seventeen years old to the moment and this was the first time in his very long life that he had truly felt what the mortals would call - complete and utter boredom. His fingers skimmed the silver pool he used to view his worshipers, as few as they were in the modern times, and he huffed to himself. There was only so much spectating he could do, there was only so much time he would willingly watch drop into the pool, there was only so much interfering in the lives of the mortals he should do, and all that was left in the moments in between was a dull ache. An ache that settled sporadically in the back of his mind, the feeling he had forgotten something, a soft face and gentle song from another time that he couldn’t shake off completely.

 

“You’re thinking,” A voice commented from behind him. “That is a worrying sign.”

 

McCree craned his neck slightly to stare at the tall figure that had entered his private room, Reyes drifted as if on a cloud of dark smoke around the marble arches and only stopped as he sat beside him.

 

“Why’s it worrying?” McCree asked.

 

“Something always goes wrong whenever you start using that brain of yours.”

 

“Not every time.” McCree argued in his own defence and Reyes rolled his eyes, folding his arms over his chest as he looked at his young charge with a raised brow. (Well, young compared to himself of course.) “I want to say about three fourths of the time things don’t go to plan.”

 

“So the time you stole Zeus bolts?”

 

“It was for a very serious and rational reason.”

 

“Or the time Gefjon found you trying to wrestle her boars.”

 

“They are bulls and I was just trying to harness them.”

 

“What about the time when Horus-”

 

“I get the picture, Gabriel! Not all of my ideas are sensible ones but that does not mean all of them are bad.” McCree argued as he stood, taking his orchid crown and daggers in hand, depositing the latter on his hips and the former on his head, being sure not to confuse the two in the process.

 

“It begs the question though, what are your current thoughts about?” Reyes asked as he got to his feet too, arms still folded over his chest. “I will tell you if they are good or not.”

 

McCree stopped in his march toward the door and held his breath before releasing it and turning to his guardian.

 

“I want to go to the earth realm.”

 

A moments silence was followed by a quick reply from Gabe.

 

“Bad idea.”

 

McCree groaned.

 

“It is not the realm that you took me from anymore, it is more advanced, more enlightened.”

 

“It is also more violence, more deranged, and more doubtful than it has ever been.”

 

“I haven’t been worshiped there since the time of the Tenochca people, can I not visit just this once, if only for a short time?”

 

“They would not accept you there,” Reyes snorted fiddling with the daggers bound around his chest. “Time must have shown you that they do not listen to the shoutings of a madman who calls himself a God-”

 

“I did not want to go there as a God.” McCree replied and Reyes stopped his fidgeting. “I wish to visit them… as a mortal.”

 

Another moment of silence.

 

“I changed my mind, it is now an incredibly bad idea.”

 

McCree just huffed as he took long steps up the marble slabs nearby, his feet pounding like a petulant child as he made his way toward the door.

 

“See, this is why Lucifer liked me more, I have ambition and ideas that stretch beyond the simple thoughts of the Gods Realm .”

 

Gabriel snorted a laugh.

 

“You’re absolutely right! Maybe we should go ask him what he thinks - Oh wait…”

 

“Alright, alright, bad example perhaps,” McCree backpedaled, noticing Gabriel still following behind him even as he left his viewing room. “It should not even be a debatable issue, it would only been for a moons time or so, no one would even begin to notice I was gone.”

 

“I would notice,” Gabe noted and McCree scoffed.

 

“That’s because ya’re always in my business.”

 

“Well, I am your guardian.”

 

“Besides, I am only a half-born.”

 

A long moment of silence stopped both men even pausing in their marching, a moment filled with hundreds of years of unmentioned battles Gabriel had fought to keep the young boy in the Gods Realm. When Gabriel had first brought him to the mountain of the Gods, the elders had wanted to cast him unto the rocks between the hidden valley and let him be pulled apart by wolves, wasps, and water snakes. Gabriel had stepped in, with a few choice words and well sharpened daggers, he would not let any God, Deity, or Demigod lay a single finger on his cub, otherwise there would be souls to pay. It had been that way for centuries since, McCree would find trouble and Gabriel would always be there to get him out of it.

 

Gabriel grabbed the younger Gods shoulder and turned him around, clasping both the shoulders firmly.

 

“Now, you listen to me, Jesse Arturo McCree. There is nothing on that realm that will fulfil you more than a few decades of hardwork and craft you can do here, and that is a blessing if I have ever heard one. There are no mortals left in that realm who will fulfil you more than you need to fulfil yourself, you do not need mortals to make your own standing in this world stronger, do you understand what I am saying?”

 

McCree did not know what he was saying, not really, Gabriel's speech was far too much on the lyrical side for him, but he nodded anyway.

 

“You belong nowhere else besides right here, where I can keep my eye on you.”

 

McCree snorted and shrugged the older mans hands off his shoulder. He began walking again, this time slower so Gabriel could walk beside him as he spoke at last.

 

“If you say as much, Gabi.”

 

Gabriel shook his head fondly and nudged the boy into a nearby pillar, listening to him yelp as his younger face slammed into the marble. Gabriel laughed and McCree followed with his own chuckles as he rubbed his sore forehead.

 

The young God looked back once to the end of the hall, the room that held the portal to the Mortal Realm and shook his head. This time, just this once, perhaps Gabriel was right.

 

\- - -

 

Hanzo took a drag of his cigarette as he stared up at the starry night sky, he exhaled and watched the smoke circle the northern star before lowering his gaze back to his book and flipping the page. He was currently sat atop his apartment building, the city around him bubbling and breathing curls of light that melted into the night sky, music rumbled from nightclubs beyond the bridge, televisions blared late night deals on christmas stamps, bleary eyed mothers cooed at their whimpering children and held them to their breasts to feed, helicopters hung upon the halos from the stars and all merged into one. Hanzo could think of nowhere he would rather be. He took another drag of his cigarette.

 

Then his phone rang, shattering the melody of the urban orchestra and Hanzo huffed and answered the call, not even looking at the ID.

 

“No.”

 

“Ooohhh hey Brother!” Genji’s slurred down the line. “You know what time it is!”

 

“It’s late.”

 

“It’s earlyyy, wha’ are ya’ talkin’ ‘bout, it’s three - yeah it’s Hanzo, no, no, haha, I’ll ask him! Hey bro, Danny wants you to take us to Taco Bell. Will you take us to Taco Bell?”

 

“No.”

 

“Why noooottt, I haven’t even tried their, their - um- Nachos Dominos El Cheeso Suprememeo yet, you know the one don’t ya’.”

 

“No, I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” Hanzo stubbed his cigarette out on the ledge and folded the page in his book over. “Where are you anyway?”

 

“The usuaall, does that mean you is coming?”

 

“I’ll be there in twenty.” Hanzo sighed and Genji yahooed down the phone, the sound followed by a high five from, who Hanzo suspected, Genji’s ridiculous friend Danny.

 

“See ya’ then bro, drive safe!” The young man hung up and Hanzo sighed, he grabbed his coat and began making his way down the fire escape.

 

Hanzo knew exactly where ‘the usual’ spot was for Genji’s pick up, after the clubbing night, his group tended to venture into the local park and field to get high off their asses, get the munchies, and then get Hanzo to leave his solitary silence to come and get them. It was a common occurrence but not common enough for Hanzo to consider it a problem, well not a problem yet anyway. It had been worse when their father was still alive and Genji had gone through what Hanzo liked to call his ‘tearaway teen’ years.

 

Hanzo flicked through the radio channels as he waited on the dirt path for his brother to appear from the bushes, most likely with his little crew in tow. He rubbed his tired eyes with the tips of his fingers and glanced at the time, four in the morning, he wished he was in bed. It wasn’t until Hanzo looked out the rearview mirror did he see something that he would rattle his world forever.

 

In a golden flame, something plummeted from what over the hills and slammed into the back of his car, the force of it shaking the axis and throwing Hanzo against the steering wheel.

 

“Shit!” The man shouted, one hand gripping the wheel tightly as he adjusted his rear mirror to see what had hit into the back of him, from the golden light a human hand formed, propped against his trunk, the rest of the body no doubt laid across the forest floor, if there was even a body attached. Hanzo cursed again.

 

The usually unflappable man, took deep and steadied breath, closing his eyes and reopening them multiple times, as if willing the image of the hand to go away. When it didn’t, Hanzo opened the car door and took a slow step out, but not before grabbing the tire iron he kept in the passenger seat footwell.

 

Hanzo breathed in the cool night air, letting it out shakily as he held the tire iron firml by his head, waiting for the inevitable swing. However, when he got to the back of the car what he found was only a man, a body attached to the hand he had seen in the mirror, and a fine body at that.

 

Fireflies lit the path to the vision of the mysterious man. The man was on his back, one hand propped against the car, the other (a shining metal with whirring gears) was resting gently against his chest. A chest that was covered in a loose brown button up and steadily moving up and down. Hanzo trailed up to his head, still shockingly attached to his body, and it was slightly tanned, freckled, and his nose was crooked, disguised behind a slightly overgrown beard, he looked like any handsome man that would come into Hanzo’s florist shop. However, the most surprising fact was what the man wore atop his head. A magnificent crown of flowers, all different shades and variations of carnation for Hanzo to admire, he knew he had not seen those types of orchid around this side of the coast and knew they must have been hard to gather. Hanzo slowly, and carefully, placed his hand to the mans chest and felt the pulse hum beneath it. Yes, the man was real, and that frightened Hanzo more than it would if the man had simply been a figment of his imagination. He looked to the sky where the man had fallen from and the stars stared back.

 

“Heyyyy Hanzo,” Genji called as he waddled out of the shrubs, only Danny following behind him, probably for the best Hanzo thought. Hanzo looked up at him and swiftly moved his hand away from the man. Genji swayed slightly, taking a swig from his patron before squinting at the figure Hanzo was crouched beside.

 

“First, Who’s the hottie on the floor? And B) is he comin’ with us to Taco Bell?”


	2. Laelia

Gabe knew he was in a big, a huge even, amount of trouble with the higher Deities. Especially the leader of their congregation, Jack Morrison, Son of the First Gods, who had told him from the very beginning that the half-born boy would be nothing but trouble. How was he to know that Jesse would run that night, take a closed and off limits portal, and haul his ass down to earth before the sun was even drawn up? He had never known Jesse to get up early for anything, how was he to know any of this would happen?!

 

“That is no excuse,” Jack told him after he had explained that to the man sat upon his marble throne, Gabriel on his knees before him. “You were the one who brought the boy here, to live amongst us, now you are telling us he is gone? He has vanished into the night like nothing more than wind?”

 

“I do not know where the portal took him,” Gabriel explained, his head slightly bowed so Jack could not see his lies. “I will just need some time to track him is all.”

 

Jack sighed, rubbing his brow with rough fingertips before pinching the bridge of his nose. 

 

“I will give you six weeks, then I will have no choice but to summon the elders and they will try to bring Jesse back themselves,” Jack said, his eyes now grimly serious. “And they will. They will bring him back by any means and they will not care if you’re in the way. Do not let it come to that, Gabriel.”

 

“I will not, I swear to you, Jack.” Gabriel vowed before bowing his head once again, when he made it around the corner out of the sight of the powerful God. He turned into his wolf form with a stiff familiarity, and made his way toward the portal to earth, he knew where Jesse was, of course he did. Like cracks to a mirror, or raindrops to the earth, or rust to a trowel, everything finds its way home eventually.  

 

\- - - 

 

“So, you’re telling me,” Genji said as he prodded the unconscious stranger on the floor with a pointed snakeskin boot wrapped toe, “That he just fell from the sky? He just fell outta nowhere.”

 

Hanzo groaned and rubbed his temples.

 

“For the seventieth time, yes, that is exactly what I am telling you!” Hanzo huffed back and Genji looked at him, his doubtful smirk firmly in place, much to the elder Shimada’s annoyance. Genji’s friend Danny had taken off long ago, along with Genji’s bottle of tequila and one of the youngers debit cards, along with strict instructions to return with four rounds of loaded nachos, three mountain dews, a chicken select box, six beef stuffed burritos, and a diet coke for Hanzo.

 

“Broooo, I told you to let me when you brought some green, I wanna puff.” 

 

“I have not been smoking! I am being serious.”

 

“Well, he seems in pretty good shape for a man who fell outta a plane or whatever…” Genji slurred before prodding the man's side again. “Can we keep him?”

 

“We need to take him to the hospital.”

 

“He’s finnee.”

 

“He has been passed out for two hours and he hasn’t moved!” 

 

Genji snickered.

 

“Sammeee.”

 

“I am being serious, Genji!” Hanzo stomped away then, pacing helped him think but there was very little room for pacing between his car, a nearby tree, Genji stood by a bush, and the man passed out against the trunk of his car. ****  
  


A long few moments of silences passed as Hanzo continued his stunted pacing, he could not rationalise just where the man had come from, he had seen him fall onto the trunk of the car that is for certain but he had seen him fall just from midair. Maybe the man was up a tree? No, that couldn’t be, the trees were too slim around here. A good running start and a jump then? No, Hanzo would have definitely heard him on the hard ground. Maybe Genji was right, a fall out of a low flying plane perhaps? The only issue with that of course, was the fact that Genji was never right, and if he was, he definitely wasn’t.    
  
“Uhh, Hanzo-”   
  
Maybe he was just a drunk friend of Genji’s and this was all a practical joke? Hanzo quickly rids himself of the thought. It must be instead just some drunk homeless man, down on his luck, hoping to hitch a ride on the nearest vehicle to him. Then why would he look so clean and refined right now? Well, about as clean as a man who was laying in dirt could be.   
  
“H - Ha- Hanzo..”   
  
No disrespect to the man, but a button up beige shirt with matching trousers were the last thing Hanzo would ever wear. Did the man pull it off though? Debatable. Very debatable. He was pretty tanned through so he must be accustomed to the outdoor, maybe he’s a late night jogger who didn’t see Hanzo’s car? He did have the lights off. That would explain the muscle, perhaps, but not the fact that Hanzo had seen the man fall from ten feet at least above his car.   
  
“Hanzo, Jesus Christ!”   
  
Hanzo turned to his brother now and instead saw a tall, slightly startled, bearded man running toward him. Hanzo took a few quick steps back, hands gripping his tire iron again and swinging it once toward the advancing man. The man took this as a warning and stopped dead in his track.    
  
“What land is this?” The man questioned, his eyes wide and scanning the area quickly.   
  
“Land?”   
  
“Lan - I mean country, do you call them states? What state is this?”   
  
“New Mexico.”   
  
“America?”   
  
“Yes?” Hanzo replied, unsure where the conversation was leading.    
  
It didn’t lead anywhere. The tall man quickly squatted down, grabbed a fistful of the dark sand and threw it into the air, the dirt fluttered to the left of him and the man turned to his right instead.   
  
“I need to head south,” Was all he said before he started marching, his boots hitting the ground firmly until he was far enough away that the brothers could no longer hear him.   
  
“Well, he was a strange dude…” Genji commented before stretching his back. “And now, I’m ready for bed, let’s roll bro!”   
  
However, when Genji looked over to the ground where Hanzo had been, the older man was gone too.

  
  
\- - -   


  
“Excuse me! Hey, hey, you, stranger, slow down!” Hanzo called as he brushed past sticks and branches, a few find themselves lodged in his raven hair as he shoved through the shrubbery. “I am talking to you!”   
  
The man stopped suddenly, almost causing Hanzo to slam into the back of him, if not for his quick reflexes they would probably be both on the floor.    
  
The tall stranger took a steadying breath, his hands fidgeting uncomfortably before turning to Hanzo and finally speaking. “Who are you?”    
  
“Who - Who am - I am Hanzo Shimada, who are you?”    
  
“Jesse. Jesse McCree.” The man replied quickly and smiled awkwardly, “I am sorry if I gave you and your friend a shock back there, I didn’t mean ta’.”   
  
“We are not shocked,” Hanzo stated firmly. “I just could not let you walk away, not out into the forests, we need to get you to a hospital.”   
  
“A hospital, whatever for?”   
  
“To make sure you’re not injured.”    
  
“I don’t think I’m hurt.”   
  
“I do not know that for certain.”   
  
“Why are you so concerned?”

  
“I’m not, I am more concerned for the dent you left in my car.”   
  
“Oh,” McCree scratched his head awkwardly, toeing the dirt beneath his foot as he did. “I’m sorry ‘bout that, I didn’t - I just… I must of tripped or something.”   
  
“I see,” Hanzo replied, his hands now cradling awkwardly by his sides. “It was awfully dark up there, wasn’t it?”   
  
“Yeah.”   
  
“I couldn’t see all that much.”   
  
“You couldn’t?” McCree lifted his head now, eyes wide with relief.   
  
“No, I couldn’t see much at all.”

 

Another moment of silence passed again and Hanzo sighed deeply, his hands brushing through his tied back hair, pulling a small stick with it that he quickly flicked to the floor. He must have been out of his mind. 

 

“Listen, I do not know if you have somewhere to be right now and I do not care. It is dark and late and wherever you're going is either not going to be open at this hour or will be too far for you to walk.” Hanzo began and Jesse nodded to the unasked question before it even passed Hanzo's lips. “You can stay at my apartment for now, until tomorrow afternoon at least, I insist the family doctor will look you over and then you can pay for my new tail light and then you will be free to go. Is that agreeable?”

 

McCree looked the stranger over with a furrowed brow, he had seen strong mortals before, narrow and straight talking and cold. McCree knew the man in front of him was most definitely all of those things, like a stiff cactus out in the desert, but there was something else to the man. A softness around his sharp eyes and a small glint of curiosity. It intrigued McCree so he nodded once. 

 

“I can agree to that partner.”

 

They shook hands under the moon and stars, a formal agreement for the Gods to see, if only they cared to look. Genji did not get his taco bell that night, he passed out in the back of Hanzo’s car before he could even mumble out his order. Hanzo and Jesse however, were a whole other pair.

 

Parked outside of the Taco Bell, the two sat in the front seats, Jesse’s flower crown placed on the dashboard and Hanzo’s tire iron tucked under the seat for his protection of course. The radio played some gentle beats Jesse had never heard that Hanzo was occasionally swaying his shoulders to and would speak lyrics every few moments, though Jesse did not know if they were the right ones or now. Jesse chewed loudly on his fully loaded bean burrito, he had tasted delicacies of course, but these mortals certainly had a culinary flare that far exceeded the offerings of the Gods. Well, atleast the floral offerings Jesse would receive at harvest times. 

 

“I am surprised my brother is still asleep,” Hanzo commented after he swallowed his own mouthful of taco. “He usually awakens at even the mention of food.”

 

Jesse hummed, grabbing a hand of nachos and shoving them onto the paperbag he had fashioned into a plate. 

 

“Though, I am sure you’re eating more than his fill for him.” Hanzo scoffed and Jesse noded.

 

“Well, ya’ see, I haven’t eaten food in quite a long time.”

 

“How long?”

 

Jesse paused, if he had eaten mortal food, if at all, had been some centuries ago. He remembered it as clear as day, his final harvest offering, red corn and cranberries, it was placed on a sunflower face. 

 

“Oh, not that long really… I exaggerate quite a lot.” Jesse replied before shoving his burrito into his mouth again, hoping to stop any more foolish words falling out. Hanzo, if he did notice the strange behaviour, didn’t mention or made no move too as he casually swept his lip with a napkin.

 

“You’re like my brother then, you’re a storyteller.”

 

“Oh I love stories.” Jesse replied far too quickly and Hanzo let his lips tug into a small smile before they flattened out again.

 

“Is that what you do then?” Hanzo asked, he pulled a pack of hot sauce from the paper bag around his ankle and split it over his food. “You are an author?”

 

“You could say that…” Jesse replied with a smirk. “I only have one published work really.”

 

“Would I know it?”

 

“Depends on what you read, of course.”

 

“That is a no then.”

 

Jesse snorted a laugh, brushing crumbs from his beard as he did.

 

“Yeah, you probably haven’t heard of it.”

 

“I will have you know, I am extensively well read, cowman.” Hanzo arrogantly reminded, throwing his now empty wrappers into a spare bag and tossing it into the back, it bounced off Genji and hit the car floor with a soft flop.

 

“Cowman?”

 

“Your attire, the floral headpiece and the button up shirt, I assumed you were some sort of out of town ranger lost from the barn.”

 

“Is that not good?”

 

Hanzo hummed, looked Jesse over once and sipped at the straw of his drink before he spoke., his brows raised slightly

 

“It’s not great.”

 

“Well, its all I could find.” Jesse replied with a shrug. “And I would not mind being what you call a cowman. What do you work as anyway?”

 

“I’m a florist.”

 

Jesse snorted and Hanzo shot him a quick glare. Clearly the man was displeased by the mortal Gods response and Jesse quickly chewed his burrito and swallowed while he spoke, hoping he wouldn’t choke.

 

“I did not mean ta offend ya. It was just unexpected, I know flowers, I know them very well, you just didn’t look the type is all.”

 

“The type?” Hanzo replied coldly, wiping his hands roughly on a napkin. “These are strong words from a man walking around at night with a flower crown on.”

 

Jesse hummed and looked at the crown on the dashboard, they were wilting slowly and Jesse hoped Hanzo wouldn’t notice the delayed nature of their fall. All his offerings were protected by the aura of the everlasting, they would give the food, the flesh, the flowers, an immortal lifetime so the Gods could do with them whatever they wished. The mortal version of the offerings would fade of course, but this crown was McCree’s first offering, a man had climbed the mountain named in his honour to mourn the loss of his young wife and child taken by disease, he had prayed for the future to be brighter and McCree (who was only a child himself at the time) had tried to grant the man whatever he prayed for, even when Gabriel had told him not to, and he had kept it with him ever since.

 

“Well,” Jesse spoke now, uncertain of how long he had left the other man in silence, “It is a very important crown to me.”

 

“I can imagine, I did not know Clerodendrum still grew this far north.” 

 

“I didn’t get them from here,” Jesse stated quickly and Hanzo hummed.

 

“Where did you get them from, If you don’t mind me asking?”

 

Jesse found himself caught once again in the twisted truth of his own immortality, Gabriel had told him not to provoke the mortals by exclaiming about his Godlike title, and Jesse knew it would be in his best interest not to reveal himself to the first mortal he met. Especially one that seemed to be as direct as Hanzo. Jesse just shrugged.

 

“I can’t remember, it was quite some time ago.” 

 

Hanzo hummed again and took another sip of his drink before he started his car with a soft rumble and pulled out of the car park. It was a silent drive until they reached Hanzo’s apartment.

 

\- - -

 

The flat was small and rundown, what a real estate agent would call ‘up and coming’ or ‘a beginners property’, but Hanzo didn’t mind it, the rent was cheap enough and the view was good from the roof. Jesse, on the other hand, adored it immediately. He had been so accustomed to marble towers and arches and rolling carvings, grand stairs, and slabs of ivory and halls of polished silverware, this was like nothing he had ever seen before. A tall, splintered, cream brick tower, complete with little windows and small iron-barred stairs that lead to the still relatively dark sky above them.

 

“Are you not waking your brother up?” Jesse questioned as Hanzo quickly took the steps toward the large double doors.

 

“No, he can sleep in there tonight, he’s used to it.” Hanzo said as he swiped a car into the door, waited a moment, then tugged violently at the handles until they cracked open. He held a small crack in the door open for Jesse and the mortal God made his way inside.

 

\- - -

 

Gabriel heavily landed on all four paws when he first hit the mortal world, the stars reformed from where they had divided for his passage and the sun began to peak around the corner of the valley. He sniffed the air slightly, tasting the salt of a city on his tongue before he shifted into his mortal form, his shoulders flexing to relax. The city was large, fading into the terracotta dawn as the golden hills arched high enough for the sun to climb with a struggle.

 

It had been a long time since he had stepped foot in the mortal world and every time he did, it would drain him to see how much things had changed. It was usually changed for the worst and he could only find a few drops of the better, as was such for the mortals. Three paces forward, another five back.

 

Gabriel did not despise mortals, far from it. He loved mortals and all their quirks and unknowing to the blessing they had that was called mortality. To live forever was to live far too long, he had seen too much and knew too much. He watched the mortals tear themselves apart, tear each other apart, in search of questions that could never be answered. To live forever is to live with the knowledge you could never share, and Gabriel never shared his knowledge with anyone, not even Jesse.

 

No, he did not despise the mortals, he despised the few that saw themselves as Gods and despised the Gods that saw themselves above the mortals. The two coexisted, he was sure of it, and those were the mortals that were the most dangerous and that he hated the most.

 

Gabriel could only hope that Jesse had not found himself in the hands of one of those mortals, and hoped he would find him soon.

 

Gabriel looked to the sky one more time, sent a prayer to Jack in thanks, then began his walk down the path of the forest.

 

\- - -

 

Jesse, as a God, never slept. So it was surprising to him when Hanzo handed him over a pile of sheets and pillows for the makeshift sofa bed he had in his front living room, he felt his eyes becoming heavy and his neck growing unable to hold his head. He had fought the symptoms until Hanzo had come back into the front room, a china mug in hand and asking how he slept around a yawn.  

 

“Yeah, it was - I was - sleeping was good.”

 

“Good to hear. Can I get you anything?” Hanzo asked and Jesse looked at him with a slightly tilted head. “Coffee? Tea? Something stronger?”

The man held his mug out to Jesse, small smirk on his face as he swirled the contents suggestively. Jesse smiled slightly and shook his head.

 

“I am good for now, thank you.”

 

Hanzo hummed, taking a sip from his own mug before sighing.

 

“I have to go open up, help yourself to food. Genji has some cookie crush cereal or whatever it is called in one of the cupboards. Bread is in the freezer, drinks in the fridge. I will see you later, do not rob anything.” Hanzo said dismissively before walking out the room again, throwing a small wave backward as he did. 

 

Jesse smiled to himself, before slowly lifting himself from the sofa and toward the small window, that he pulled open and then climbed out to breath in the fresh morning air. It was his first day in the mortal world, and he had no idea what he wanted to do first. Inside the apartment, his flower crown drooped slightly and a petal fell silently to the floor. 


	3. Sakura

A month had passed in Jesse’s mortal life when he realised, for the first time in centuries, he was very much content with the world. He was stilling living in Hanzo’s flat, a point that the other man had insisted on when Jesse had revealed after a week that he actually had nowhere else to go. Genji had decided quite early on to move out for however long McCree was staying, just so they would all have enough space. He liked Jesse, that was obvious to everyone, he found the other man entertaining and surprisingly naive to the world for the age Jesse had told them, but the small two-bed apartment was just too enclosed for him with another man there. Genji needed at least two hours in the bathroom every morning and he knew his friend Zen barely needed anytime at all, so he moved in with him. 

 

In that time, the two, Jesse and Hanzo, grew unexpectedly close. Well, at least it was unexpected for Genji to see, knowing that his brother barely had any friends and if they did, they were copies of Hanzo. They were prickly and stubborn, like an unmoving cactus Jesse had commented once much to Genji’s joy and Hanzo’s annoyance. Hanzo had inadvertently hired Jesse at his florists, a decision that seemingly came naturally when Hanzo noticed Jesse’s ability to name just about any flower put in front of him and could arrange them and weave them into any crown he could imagine. After the second week of Jesse doing stock checks for Hanzo, he seemed to never leave the shop and Hanzo was pleased about that. Genji, as brilliant as he was with the customers, could not pick out a tulip from a two pence, so Hanzo was pleased that he finally had someone at his side who knew the same as him, if not more. It was also the easiest way to pay back for damaging Hanzo’s car, a point that neither of them raised but was silently agreed between them. 

 

Jesse had forgotten all his desires to head south, to find the people who had ‘abandoned him to the Gods’ (as he recalled Gabriel told him once), and his need to find entertainment in the mortal world. He found that living for these small moments, morning coffee with Hanzo, laugher with Genji, sorting through flowers until he found the perfect bundle, the way Hanzo snorted and laughed when he told an awful joke, drinking on the roof of Hanzo’s apartment until dawn, these were the moments mortals lived for. They were moments they hoped would flicker in front of their eyes before they died, to a Gods perspective, these small moments were forgotten in a century, for the mortals, these moments would last forever. 

 

Jesse hoped they would last forever.

 

“Helloooo Jess, are you there?” A voice called from where Jesse was lost in his own mind, he saw fingers flick in front of his face and he flinched once. Genji was stood in front of him, his usual tilted smirk on his face. 

 

“I am, I am here,” Jesse replied dumbly, his own smile returning that of the shorter mans own. “Howdy, what can I do for you?.” 

 

“We were going to the farmers market, remember?” Genji said with a laugh as he waved a wad of cash under the mortal Gods nose. “I promised you kettle corn and shortbread, you said you’ve never tried them before. Shocking, if you take my word for it.”

 

“Oh, I don’t really know if I can, Genji,” Jesse replied, tightening his apron around himself. “I was meant to have these flowers cut before Hanzo locked up.”

 

“Pfft,” Was Genji’s only response as he fanned himself with the cash in his hand. “My brother loves the farmers market, I am sure he is already there, he won’t mind.”

 

Jesse knew the younger Shimada was mischievous at the worst of times, hell, he was a handful at the best of times, but Jesse doubted he would intentionally lead him into the bad books of Hanzo. Well, at least that’s what he would like to believe.

 

“Alright, just let me pack up.” Jesse said after a few moment while Genji pumped his fist and began babbling about all the magic of a ‘farmers market’ a concept that was still completely lost on Jesse. The way the brothers had explained it was not at all what the God had imagined, apparently it was not a place to buy farmers, a very strange mortal concept indeed.

 

Jesse had learned a lot of these types of things since being in the mortal realm. All you could eat, did not mean eat all day long if you could. Theme parks, do not have a set theme, they’re random assortment of rides. A zebra crossing was made for human mortals, not for multi stripped mammals. You cannot take things from tables that do not belong to you, they are not offerings. Jesse learned that (and in effect made Hanzo learn) the hard way in a bar when he happened upon an unattended pint of ale. Hanzo had asked if he had been raised by wolves, Jesse told him he that he, for what it was worth, had been raised by only one wolf. The man had scoffed and slapped the pack of ice onto Jesse’s eye a tad too forcefully before placing one to his own bumped head. It had all been learned in good humour of course, and Jesse was learning more and more every day just how strange the mortals really were. If he were to consider Hanzo a God, he would think him some sort of demi-god like himself, perhaps birthed from a volcano goddess or a stone nymph, the man's eyebrows were sharply pointed disapprovingly most of the time and Jesse wondered if he knew he frowned without even meaning to. 

 

Jesse reached for the flower wrapping papers, paying no mind to Genji’s chattering, before he felt a sharp pain run up his arm and down his side. The sudden white paint shooting through him caused him to grab up, grabbing his wrist as he did so and letting out a startled yelp in pain. He realised a few seconds later that Genji was no longer rambling, instead the shorter man's brow was furrowed in concern and hands were shot out as if ready to catch the man.

 

“Everything alright?”

 

“Yes,” Jesse lied, waving away the pain that still radiated through his shoulder. “I am alright.”

 

“My brother is working you too hard,” Genji said with a small laugh. “Come on, leave that shit for later, we have kettle corn to get.”

 

Jesse didn’t argue.

 

Genji continued to babble on about anything that came to his mind once they were in his car, and then when they were out on the road, and then when they actually arrived at the market. It was another one of those things Jesse had become adjusted to now, like Hanzo’s mood swings or the shower running cold on his freshly mortal skin, he knew that Genji could talk for hours and nothing could be done, besides sitting and listening. 

 

The market was small and functional, all pinewood stalls slouching against each other, there were red patchwork tarps as their only shelter and the whole entry smelt like a mixture of fresh fruit and deep fried sugars. Jesse didn’t know where to start but Genji certainly did, taking the lead in front of him and pointing out all of his favourite stalls. The kettle corn counter was between a hat stand and a beer brewery, Jesse stood patiently behind Genji as he chatted to the excitable looking woman behind the counter, they spoke quickly of things Jesse didn’t understand like organic segments and vanilla infusions. The God just smiled and nodded, laughing occasionally when it seemed right. He barely had time between the politeness to notice a man walking quickly behind him, before he slammed into the back of him and Jesse’s vision went suddenly dark.

 

“You fit in well here, cowman.” A familiar voice teased and Jesse laughed, pulling the fabric that had been unexpectedly draped over his eyes.

 

“I was thinking the very same thing, Han.” Jesse replied and looked at what Hanzo had put on his head, a wide-brimmed and gold decal hat, somewhere between a cowboys old fashioned ten-gallon and a weaved farmers hat. Jesse fell for the hat immediately and looked at Hanzo who was smirking slightly at him.

 

“Just as I thought, positively hideous,” Hanzo commented and Jesse snorted, placing it gently back on his own head.

 

“Where did you find it?” Jesse asked and Hanzo’s face sunk back into a steady seriousness.

 

“In the trash behind my apartment building.” 

 

Jesse pulled the hat back off rather quickly and Hanzo smirked at the act before placing the man's new hat on himself.

 

“I just bought it, of course, Genji said you both would be coming here today so I decided to come along too, after I went to the bank of course. Business first.” Hanzo stated to the question Jesse hadn’t even asked and looked up at the man from beneath the brim of the hat. “So, are you taking this abomination or not?”

 

Jesse snatched back the hat and dusted it lovingly, placing it on his head with a steady huff. Hanzo nudged Jesse in the shoulder.

 

“It suits you.”

 

It was a softness that came out only sporadically from Hanzo but Jesse always felt his heart flutter and his stomach droop slightly whenever he heard the man's voice like that. Jesse nodded slightly and tugged at the brim.

 

“Well thank ya’ kindly, pardner.” 

 

Hanzo’s smirk broadened into a genuine smile before Jesse held out his arm, one that Hanzo gladly accepted and they began to walk toward the exotic flower stand, leaving Genji to barter over bags of popcorn with the excitable lady who was beginning to look more and more stern.

 

\- - -

 

They had spent the rest of the afternoon at the market, circling the stalls and talking amongst themselves, Genji had joined them later with six bags of kettle corn, two bags of orange flavoured almonds, and a shortbread tart for Jesse to finally try. In the hours the two had alone, they discussed their usual things, their work, the flowers, the beauty of the sunset, the annoyance of Genji and just about anything in between. Jesse sometimes noticed how Hanzo would look at him with an absent-minded smile and Jesse would notice that he sometimes found himself doing it too. There was something unsaid between the pair, something unnoted between innuendos and teasing and timely jokes. Genji had noticed it before the pair did and never brought either of them up on it, as was right otherwise Hanzo would surely bite his head off and let Jesse hide it in the forest or something.

 

It was worse when they got to Hanzo’s apartment, living together was fun, Jesse discovered his love of Chinese food on the lumpy sofa the man had in his front room and Hanzo had realised that musicals were actually not a mind-numbing experience, well at least not  _ all _ of them were. However, the tension between them seemed to worsen, not in a negative way, far from it, there was just an unsaid tension that settled over them whenever they stepped foot in there, especially when it came to saying goodnight. A few moments in the cramped hallway that lingered a bit too long, a hastened goodbye, followed by a door slam from either man that was of course unintentional, a steady breath on the other side of the door, followed by a night of trying to rationalised sweaty palms and a feeling of heartsickness whenever the other was gone.

 

Jesse found himself struck with the symptoms of both late into the night. He had turned endlessly in his bed, he still could not conceive sleep and it seemed his mortal form still held habits of his Godliness, allowing him to stay awake for long periods of time. He gazed at the hat he had placed on the pillow next to him and saw the gold decorations glint back from the distant light of the night, he sighed and furrowed his brow slightly when the glint vanished and a shadow passed his window. The man was quick to react, sitting up in his bed with eyes wide as he looked out the window behind his headboard, seeing the blue flutter of a familiar silk road and slim pale feet dip out of sight on the iron firescape. 

 

Jesse rubbed his left eye with a balled fist before unlatching his window and poking his head out. He saw, once again, the slim ankle disappear over the top ledge of the building. Jesse breathed in the acidic city night air as he pulled himself out of the window and clambered gracelessly onto the stairs with a groan, following the direction of the mysterious figure, though he moved at a much slower pace. When he got to the roof, he could not believe the sight laid out in front of him. 

 

Hanzo, robe tied loosely around him, the left side of his chest exposed and leading to a hand that held a cigarette between his left index and middle finger. He was sat on a foldable chair, his legs crossed lazily, and his eyes transfixed on the stars as he drew steady breaths in of the air and the smoke from his cigarette. Jesse’s palms began sweating again, damn these mortal ailments, and he stumbled haplessly onto the rough, pulling Hanzo from his trance and directly toward him.

 

“Jesse, I didn’t wake you did I?” Hanzo questioned as he quickly straightened and pulled the robe tightly around himself. Jesse mourned the loss of that chest immediately and cursed himself for thinking as much. 

 

“No, no, you didn’t wake me, Han.” Jesse replied, hands held up in a sign of peace. “I was already awake.” 

 

“Genji used to complain all the time that I would wake him when I climbed the stairs, though he did not mind disturbing my peace to come and collect him from whatever ditch he found himself in,” Hanzo stated, taking another drag of his cigarette and flicking the tip on the floor. “Why were you awake anyway?”

 

“Oh, I don’t know, just thinking I guess.” Jesse scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and took small steps toward the man, waiting for him to motion for the mortal God to sit beside him. 

 

“We are very much the same, Jesse McCree,” Hanzo commented before nodding to the seat beside him and the taller man quickly folded his legs to sit beside him.

 

“You could say that.” Jesses replied and Hanzo hummed as he passed him a cigarette, passing him a lighter at the same time. When Jesse started sparking his own cigarette between his lips, Hanzo looked up the sky and stared at the stars again. He took a deep breath and sighed, Jesse followed his vision and found himself gazing up at the constellations. 

 

The city hummed around them, the tireless breath of a nocturnal beast whose heart breathed steady club anthems and cheers and whose eyes were glazed in yellow starlight, it didn’t move but it never stopped running. The world never stopped spinning and beyond that, the stars never stopped burning and beyond that, the galaxy never stopped growing and beyond that, there were a pair of eyes, as steady and as sure as Hanzo Shimada's, that Jesse could find himself lost in forever. 

 

“Do you ever wonder what is beyond?” Hanzo questioned softly and Jesse snapped out of his dreaming, his eyes clasping on the man next to him as he focused. The man looked gentle in the nighttime blue, like the first time Jesse had met him, the curiosity and uncertainty stained his features and Jesse felt no fear.

 

He reached out and gently took Hanzo’s hand, it startled the shorter man slightly who stared at Jesse but did not pull his hand away as the man placed their palms together.

 

“The world is an intricate system, Han. What is taken, must be returned, and what is given, must be received. It started as a seed, a seed that sprouted a universal branch, that grew into a galactic tree, from the top of this tree beings were born from what was left of that earthly seed.” Jesse moved his palm slightly across until their hands fanned out as if there were ten fingers on a single palm. “They merged the universe, grew it onwards as if the were the roots of the tree and not the top branches, they merged.” Jesse’s fingertips gently twitched, pushing in between the fingers of Hanzo’s own rough palm as their fingers slide together. “The tree grew stars, the fruit of these beings work, and from these stars, crossings grew between this realm and the mortal realm where humans resided,” Hanzo’s fingers melted gently to lace their hands together. “The humans and the Gods were connected from that moment, in belief and growth, one could not exist without the other. Stars are just braille that you cannot touch, they’re messages between mortals and immortals that have lost their translation over time, it is like owning a book in another language,” Jesse pulled their fingers apart and Hanzo slowly did the same until only the shyest of tips touched, his eyes focused intently on Jesse. “You may understand some words, but you will never complete it unless you learn the language. The universe is just this, an unfinished book that is being read in numerous languages, answers are not necessary, but questions are needed in the world, so it can be brought back together once again with a new understanding.”

 

Jesse bravely pressed his lips to Hanzo’s fingertips before lacing their fingers together once again, Hanzo’s mouth was slightly parted in wonder, his eyes clear and sure once again, his mouth twitched gently into a smile, his cigarette falling forgotten from his fingers.

 

“Who are you, Jesse McCree?”

  
“You would not believe me if I told you.”

 

“Try me.” Hanzo challenged and Jesse smirked slightly before Hanzo lunged forward and pressed their lips together. Jesse’s eyes widened and focused on Hanzo’s face being so close to his own as he closed his eyes. Hanzo pulled back slightly, a small smile tugging at his lips, Jesse’s eyes fluttered open again, a smirk pulling at his own mouth before he moved forward and caught Hanzo’s lower lips between the two of his own, pulling him closer with teasing kisses and nips. Hanzo ran his hands through the man's hair and Jesse returned the move by pulling Hanzo’s robe down his shoulders easily, leaning forward to kiss the sculpted flesh, listening as a soft chuckle bubbled in Hanzo’s chest.

 

The two were unaware of a set of yellow eyes locked on them from a forest ridge nearby, a uncertain growl rose from the shadowy creature before he fell back into the treeline once again, a plan forming in the guardians mind.


	4. Amaranthus

Jesse did not question how any of this came to pass, and he knew he would never want to. He was in bed, on his back, with Hanzo curled up tenderly against his chest, breathing steadily as he slept and drooling slightly, not that Jesse minded of course. He gently ran his fingers through the stray hair at the base of Hanzo’s neck and sighed deeply, he wondered how mortals could sleep when there was so much to think about, so much to consider, so much to feel. Jesse felt a lot of things, he used to feel the prayers and pains of his followers, he used to feel the moving hands of time in his ribcage and the pains in his hands, and now he feels Hanzo’s gentle heartbeat against his side and wonders if he could capture such a feeling in a bottle and take it with him forever. He wondered how long he could stay at Hanzo’s side, how long before he had to return to his realm, he still had so much to see and do, he did not want to think of it.

 

The mortal God curled his arm around the florist and pulled him closer, pressing a small kiss to the man's temple before climbing slowly out of bed. He sat on the edge and felt everything inside him twitch and twinge, his muscles ached in an unfamiliar way, he felt weak, on the chair on the opposite side of the room, his flower crown was wilting almost to a complete decline. When had that happened? 

 

A thud and a crash coming from the front room pulled him from his minimal exercise and the God jumped, looking back at a still sleeping Hanzo before silently pulling on a pair of shorts and steadily making his way toward the door, his breath shallow as he did. Of course, of all the dreaded things Jesse had feared to be on the other side of the door, he would have never expected Gabriel, cursing under his breath and rubbing his shoulder in pain.

 

“Gabriel?” Jesse hissed, stepping quickly out of his room, closing the door firmly behind him as not to wake Hanzo. “Wha - Why - How did you find me?”

 

Gabriel snorted.

 

“I followed a trail of breadcrumbs, of course,” The guardian replied as he rolled his eye and rubbed his shoulders again. “I scented you about three weeks ago, been following the trail ever since.”

 

“Why are you here?”

 

“I’ve come to take you back to Gods Realm.”

 

Jesse stared at the man for a moment, eyes flicking to his bedroom door and then returned back to the guardian.

 

“I am not returning to Gods Realm.”

 

Gabriel furrowed his brow at him and sighed.

 

“Yes, you are, Jesse. I am not here to argue.” Gabriel brushed his beard slightly and Jesse did the same in a worried fashion, his head suddenly trembling and his breath becoming unsteady.

 

“I can’t go back. I have work to do, I arrange flowers, I have agreements, I have friends, I have… I have a very good pair of friends… I have too much to lose by going back to Gods Realm.” Jesse argued and Gabriel watched him, his eyes full of sympathy and affection. “I will not go with you.”

 

“Jesse, listen to me now,” Gabriel replied in the most comforting tone he could imagine, hands gently reaching for the younger God. “I have observed your dearest friend, I have heard his prayers. He has hopes for his brother, his work, his health, and you. He prays for your health Jesse, but look at you now boy. Your hands are frail, your bones are weak, and your strength leaves you at fleeting times, does it not?”

 

Jesse shuffled uncomfortably, hands twitching nervously.

 

“It is the mortal food, I am accustomed to it.”

 

Gabriel’s smile twitched on his lips again, his sympathy growing stronger for the younger man who was moving nervously in front of him.

 

“Your powers are draining Jesse, you have been parted from the stars and Gods Realm too long, you’re weakening the longer you are here and the longer you stay, the faster you will… you will… you are coming home, with me, right now. I will hear no more argument.” Gabriel's tone sharpened at the corners in his usual style once again, something Jesse was very much used to.

 

“This is my home,” Jesse stated firmly, his arms folding. 

 

Gabriel looked at the young man in front of him, in his minds eye, Jesse was still that petulant toddler that petted a wolf's scars with no fears for his hands, he was the child who would run rings around the Gods and steal whatever was not bolted down, he was the adolescent who would feel the pain of the mortals more than anyone else, the boy would feel their time slip away and would welcome them with warmth, if the grief had left him with any strength. He was the God who had fallen hopelessly in love with a mortal man who would never know of the Gods real, he was a fool, he was a half-born of a trickster God who was never seen again. Above all this, he was still the bare baby boy Gabriel had sworn to protect for all eternity.

 

“I will not leave you on this realm to die,” Gabriel growled now. “You’re being foolish, Jesse. You will fade amongst these mortals, and for what purpose? To prove to those that doubt you that you finally belong.”

 

“I do belong, I belong in the realm of mortals, to die in the arms of the one I love is far better than to live the privileged life of forever,” Jesse argued and Gabriel groaned.

 

“You know exactly what death does to those that are left behind, you will do this to him because you’re selfish and do not know what knowledge you have been gifted and cursed with.”

 

“My only knowledge is in what I know now as a mortal, I know contentment in the every day, in the small acts of kindness we see every day, I know the joys of friendship, I know the happiness of love, and as short as it is, it is only a grain of sand in the hourglass of the universe. But it is mine, and I want to live a mortal life.” Jesse hissed and a moment of silence passed, Hanzo shifted in the bed and the rustle could be heard through the door, the creaks of neighbors waking up for a nighttime walk could be heard above, the occasional car could be heard turning the corner below. The neverending noise was a comforting silence to Jesse now and Gabriel shifted in his stance. 

 

“This will not be forever Jesse, your love will have years left within him, but you will not. You must come back with me to replenish yourself.”

 

Jesse took another long moment of silence and breathed out.

 

“Then will I be able to return?”

 

“You have my word,” Gabriel promised, hand to his chest. 

 

Jesse looked back at the bedroom door.

 

“Will I get to say goodbye?”

 

“Is it not easier to just-”

 

“I will go, if I get to say goodbye.”

 

Gabriel paused, breathing in a steady breath before he nodded and waved a dismissive hand.

 

Jesse stepped quietly into the bedroom once again, his eyes fixing instantly on Hanzo’s pale shoulders exposed in the moonlight, shifting every few moments and stretching. Jesse sat at the edge of the bed, nearest to Hanzo’s side, his fingertips traced the curve of the man's back and he felt a small smile twitch on his lips as the man made a content sound and shifted again in his sleep.

 

“This will not be forever, Hanzo,” Jesse whispered into the night, hoping Hanzo could hear him. “I know too much about forever and not enough about always, but for what its worth I will always be yours.”

 

Jesse placed his hat on the pillow that he had been using, knowing it was the first thing Hanzo would see when he woke up. He sighed, the air blew cold from between his lips, a silver tear fell from his tungsten turning eyes and he leaned forward to kiss the mans shoulder, once, twice then he was gone. Faded into stardust and Gabriel, who was stood in the doorway watching the scene, closed his eyes and sighed as he faded away too. The night was quiet once again and Hanzo Shimada sighed in his sleep, dreaming of freckles and flowers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I will be back to continue this one day, maybe include a prequel, an interluding bit with more Hanzo and Jesse antics, maybe even a side story of how Gabriel and Jack became Gods, who knows the world is my oyster and I intend to eat it whole. Other than that, thank you for making it this far and thank you for reading! Be sure to check out the fanart http://ee-void.tumblr.com/post/177178796140/title-he-who-fell-from-the-stars-rating-teen-and that inspired this piece it is honestly an A1 piece of work, 10/10, beautiful lowlights, highlights, and soft grunge aesthetic which is just brilliant and above all have a lovely day!)


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